In the Age of Dragons

Sometimes when the fights begin,

I think I’ll let the dragons win,

But then again, perhaps I won’t,

Because they’re dragons, and I don’t.

                                       --A.A. Milne

I just watched a brief video about a young man who was beaten by a group of basketball jersey-wearing thugs. On a busy street in NYC.  In broad daylight.  Did this man steal a woman’s purse?  Did he attack a child?  Did he wave a weapon in the air?  Had he just robbed a bank?  What did he do to deserve such brutality?  He must have done something horrible, something unspeakable, something that required others to step in lest he wreak more havoc on this otherwise still, calm, beautiful day.  This is not a world in which unjust things happen; this is not a world in which hate triumphs over love.  Wait, I’m thinking of a dream I once had.  Yes, we do see random acts of kindness, unexpected friendship, and color-blind love.  Everywhere I look, I might see something that will capture my heart and work towards restoring my faith in humanity.  But I’m not stupid.  Or new.  Or naïve.  Unfortunately, I know I am just as likely to witness cruelty or intolerance. 

           The handsome young man with the bright-blue eyes in the video?  Yeah, he was holding his boyfriend’s hand. 

           How can we have come so far in so many ways and yet be so barbaric?  How can any form of mutual, respectful, innocent love trigger such hatred in anybody?  I’ll never fully understand how, but I think I know why.

            Edmund Burke has said that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  From this, we are to understand that even though evil may win many battles, evil can never truly be the victor as long as good people fight for what is right.  In the video I watched, the young man speaks of two others who were beaten by the same crew the next day.  The group of criminals can been seen on video footage walking calmly, almost as if they could be on their way to a basketball game or the movies or anywhere…and not on their way from the scene of a vicious hate crime. 

             Sadly, when the victim opened his eyes and sat up, he saw a crowd of people.  Nobody stood up for him.  Nobody helped him.  I imagine a colorful mob of people similar to that in Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn elbowing each other to get a better view of the tragedy.  They are as much responsible as the perpetrators themselves.  Since when did it become acceptable to snap photos of a grim scene rather than actively help another human in need?  Ironically, people know it’s wrong, or base, or weak to do this, yet this is what many keep doing.

             So to this young man who made the video, I say, thank you—not for being a victim so that those who see your bloodied photos can feel their humanity in their guts, and not for being gay so that we can all press on in the hope of a more loving, unified future, but for being courageous enough to speak out and post this video.  The men who attacked you are monsters, for sure.  But like termites or cockroaches, where there is one, there are hundreds, maybe thousands more.  The path to acceptance is tough, and the journey is long.  Those cowards may have knocked you down and shed your blood, but your reaction shows that they have not beaten you in this filthy war of hatred and intolerance.  You continue to fight the dragons because you must, and I admire you for it—for everything you are. 

            Awareness can spread like fire in this age of social media.  Let’s hope it can burn ignorance to the ground one small mind at a time.